Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Flaunted His Weight Loss Transformation, Sparking Discourse
The Rock's debuted his weight loss at the Venice Film Festival in August 2025, causing some to nickname him "The Pebble."
Published Sept. 2 2025, 12:35 p.m. ET
Through his celebrated career as a WWE superstar and a solid second act as a bonafide movie star, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has kept some parts of himself consistent. Within the last two decades (at least), we've seen The Rock's aesthetic consist of a bald head that few can, well, rock, glowy, well-groomed skin, and his ripped physique.
Due to The Rock's staying power, few thought he would switch up his gym routine anytime soon. However, he stepped out showing off a new side to him that sparked multiple conversations. Here's what to know.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson lost a significant amount of weight for a movie role.
On Saturday, Aug. 30, The Rock was spotted at the Venice Film Festival and appeared quite different than the muscle man we've grown accustomed to. He rocked a slimmed-down physique while wearing a blue patterned shirt and black pants.
As photos and videos of The Rock at the festival surfaced, several fans expressed their shock at how his physique changed seemingly overnight.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ROCK?" one fan asked with a shocked face emoji on X (formerly Twitter).
"Dwayne 'The Pebble’ Johnson," another user joked.
"Had to do a double take," a third fan wrote.
In addition to the fans who felt The Rock's weight loss was disturbing, multiple fans defended him against his social media haters. Some pointed out that the criticism against him for losing weight mirrored past instances of judging celebrities for their weight loss. Many pointed out the early critiques Chadwick Boseman received before he died of colon cancer in August 2020.
What has The Rock said about his weight loss?
Amid the public sharing their opinions regarding his weight loss, The Rock shared that he made significant changes to his body in preparation for the movie he was promoting at the Venice Film Festival. According to Parade, he lost around 60 lbs. for his role as MMA fighter Mark Kerr in the biopic, The Smashing Machine. The Rock, who is known for his roles as buff, athletic-built men, said he was eager to take on a physique few had seen him in before.
"This transformation was something I was really hungry to do,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “I had been very fortunate to have the career that I’ve had over the years and to make the films that I’ve made, but there was just a voice inside of me, a little voice that said, ‘Well, what if I could do more — I want to do more and what does that look like?’”
The slim down as seemingly paid off, as The Rock's performance as Kerr is already getting Oscar buzz, which would mark the first time one of his performances has been considered by the Academy. And while many naysayers don't want to see a little less The Rock and more of Dwayne, others are ready to see him take everything that's his — no matter what his scale says!
"The Smashing Machine is really setting the bar high…an unrecognizable Dwayne Johnson looks to give the best performance of his career” wrote a fan on X.
The Smashing Machine also stars Emily Blunt as The Rock's love interest.